Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki wants sole custody of his ex-girlfriend's unborn baby, now a Jefferson County inmate, if it's proven he is the father, according to a petition filed last week in a Dallas County courthouse.

The inmate, Crystal Taylor, was arrested May 6 at Nowitzki's Dallas home on a warrant out of Jefferson County for on a theft of services charge. She was served at the jail Monday with a petition to adjudicate parentage.

Nowitzki's name does not appear on the court documents.

The petitioner is identified as "D.N.,'' a resident of Dallas County, according to a copy of the documents The Enterprise obtained.

The fact, however, that Taylor was served with the papers and that the circumstances described in them match what is known about their relationship confirms that Nowitzki is the petitioner.

A media frenzy swirled and rumors abounded after Taylor's arrest about her relationship with Nowitzki and whether she was pregnant.

In a jailhouse interview with the Dallas Morning News in late May, Taylor gave the newspaper permission to access her medical records that showed a positive result on a pregnancy test administered to her when she was booked into the Dallas County jail.

Taylor has said that Nowitzki was her fiance and the petition states that "C.T.'' has "repeatedly made public statements that Petitioner (D.N.) is the biological father of the child.''

Taylor's Beaumont attorney, Scott Renick, said his client told him about the documents, which were filed June 12 in the 330th District Court of Dallas County by Katherine A. Kinser of the law firm, Kinser and Bates.

The firm's Web site lists its specialty as matrimonial law, which it states includes child custody.

"My client informed me that she has seen them,'' Renick said Thursday in an interview with The Enterprise.

Before he would comment specifically on the petition, Renick said he would have to meet with Taylor to "determine an appropriate response.''

"We have to determine the best options, legally, to protect her rights and those rights of her unborn child,'' he said. "Our only focus in this case is to ensure the laws of the state of Texas are complied with to protect any and all rights Taylor has in delivery (of the baby) and her rights as a mother.''

Darlene Campbell, a legal assistant with Kinser's law firm, said she "can't talk about that (case) and Mrs. Kinser is out of town until Monday.''Calls placed to Kinser's home in Dallas as well as to the Dallas Maverick's media office Thursday were not returned.

The petition to adjudicate parentage, Renick said, is used to determine the identity of parents of a child in family court cases.

Robert Hart, an attorney for Nowitzki, told ESPN on May 21 that his client would ``do whatever can be done to ensure the health of the child.

"If in the remote instance there is any validity to this woman's claim of pregnancy, Dirk will do whatever can be done to ensure the well being of the child,'' Hart said then.

In the petition filed by Kinser, the documents requests not only genetic testing be done on the child to determine if "D.N.'' is the father, but also requests temporary orders appointing "D.N.'' sole managing conservator of the child after birth if he is the father.

Taylor remains in the Jefferson County Jail. According to Renick, she is visibly pregnant.

Taylor is accused of paying for almost $11,000 worth of dental work in December 2004 at Joel Lane Smith's cosmetic dentistry office in Beaumont with a credit card she did not have permission to use. She was indicted on the charge in 2006.

She's being held in lieu of a $50,000 bond. Renick said she cannot afford to make bail.

Taylor's trial date has been set for July 27. She also faces a 2000 probation violation charge in Missouri.

Taylor has been known to have several aliases and has lived in Houston, Missouri and Beaumont.

Former St. Louis Rams quarterback Tony Banks claims to have had a relationship with Taylor, who presented herself to him as "Theresa".

Banks told the Morning News that Taylor tried to turn his life and career upside down. Taylor denied having any more than a brief platonic relationship with Banks.

From 1998 to 2001, Taylor was married to James Westerhaus. She also lived with a Beaumont man named Todd Nobles in 2004, according to the Morning News.

Taylor told the Dallas newspaper that she met Nowitzki in 2002 after accidentally dialing his phone number instead of her brother's phone number. It began as a telephone, e-mail and texting relationship.

Since the basketball season ended, Nowitzki returned to his home country of Germany as he does at the end of every season, according to ESPN.

He has declined to answer questions about his relationship with Taylor beyond acknowledging to reporters that he's ``going through a tough time in my personal life.''